From another point of view! Heresy anyone?
a day after reading what Mohler had to say, here's what Tony Campolo had to say. Any surprise that Clinton chose him to be the spiritual advisor. What would be the bigger disaster, Katrina or that God was not in control?
Katrina: Not God's Wrath--or His Will
The Hebrew Bible doesn't say God is omnipotent. When disaster strikes, he cries with the rest of us.
By Dr. Tony Campolo
Whenever there is a catastrophe, some religious people inevitably ask, "Why didn’t God do something? Where was God when all those people died?" Among the answers we might consider is the one that Martin Luther gave as his wife asked a similar question upon the death of their infant son. Luther answered, "The same place he was when His son died!"
Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad answers. One such answer is that somehow all suffering is a part of God’s great plan. In the midst of agonies, someone is likely to quote from the Bible, telling us that if we would just be patient, we eventually would see "all things work together for the good, for those who love God, and are called according to His purposes." (Romans 8:28)
I don’t doubt that God can bring good out of tragedies, but the Bible is clear that God is not the author of evil! (James 1:15) Statements like that dishonor God, and are responsible for driving more people away from Christianity than all the arguments that atheistic philosophers could ever muster. When the floods swept into the Gulf Coast, God was the first one who wept.
There are still other religionists who take the opportunity to tell us that God is punishing America for its many sins. Undoubtedly, there are some al-Qaeda fanatics who right now are saying that Katrina is the hand of God, striking America for what we have done to the people of Iraq and to the Palestinians. Furthermore, there are Christians who, in the weeks to come, can be counted on to thunder from their pulpits that Katrina is God’s wrath against the immorality of this nation, pointing out that New Orleans is the epitome of our national degradation and debauchery. To all of this I say, "Wrong."
The God revealed in Jesus did not come into the world "to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:17) There can be no arguments over the claim that, for a variety of reasons, our nation deserves punishment. But when the Bible tells us about the grace of God, it is giving us the good news that our loving God does not give us what we truly deserve. Certainly, God would not create suffering for innocent people, who were--for the most part--Katrina’s victims.
Perhaps we would do well to listen to the likes of Rabbi Harold Kushner, who contends that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does it say that God is omnipotent. Kushner points out that omnipotence is a Greek philosophical concept, but it is not in his Bible. Instead, the Hebrew Bible contends that God is mighty. That means that God is a greater force in the universe than all the other forces combined.
In scripture we get the picture of a cosmic struggle going on between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. The good news is that, in the end, God will be victorious. That is why we can sing in the Hallelujah Chorus, "the kingdoms of this world [will] become the Kingdom of our Lord."
Personally, I contend that the best thing for us to do in the aftermath of Katrina is to remain silent, and not try to explain this tragedy. Instead of asking "Why?" we should be asking, "What does God want us to do now?" The loving God calls all believers in the face of Katrina’s devastation to seek ways to express love in concrete ways towards those who have lost friends and family members; and to those who have lost homes along with most of their earthly belongings.
In the Bible, we read this passage: "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." (I Kings 19:11-12)
Instead of looking for God in the earthquake or the tsunami, in the roaring forest fires blazing in the western states, or in the mighty winds of Katrina, it would be best to seek out a quiet place and heed the promptings of God’s still small voice. That voice will inspire us to bring some of God’s goodness to bear in the lives of those who suffer.
posted by Tim Costine @ 11:05 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
How can they saw the Hebrew Scriptures don't teach the omnipotence of God? The actual word may not be used, but He certainly demonstrated it in His deliverance of Israel (multiple times!). And there's plenty of evidence concerning His treatment of the nations who, while within His will were allowed to persecute Israel, were judged for having done so. The writer would do well to read Jonathan Edward's treatise differentiating the "permissive will" of God from His "sovereign will".
I like his point that we shouldn't just sit around and ask "why" without considering what Christ wants us to do personally. But to make that point at the expense of calling my God "not really as powerful as we have claimed" is a lie strait out of Satan's butthole.
If he wants to believe in a God who runs and hides from bad weather so be it but dont call me your brother. Wow I'm really starting to sound like a TMS student.
do you have the link for this article. Unfortunately this guy is pretty influential in inner city circles and i know some people who should read this
The Psalms are full of God's omnipotence.
I love it when people talk about the Bible but don't actually take the time to read it....
it was on belief.net, i think under writings about the hurricane.
Wow that is really weak. What is this guys background. The god he is inventing is not the God of Israel or the God of the Bible.
It did occur to me that it is interesting that it hit New Orleans after a friend referred to it as "Sodom and Gemorah". Was it chance that the Tsunami hit America's hottest place for vacationers who are also interested in debauchery. Was the two towers America's Tower of Babel? hmm...
besides campolo having a really bad picture, he also has too much influence throughout evangelical christianity today. people like following names, and he has one.
a poll on the same website says 45% of the people think that God was not in control of the storm or that it was not his will.
another poll said 47% of people's faith was 'greatly strengthened' in the aftermath. that seemed a little odd to me, because it has had absolutely no effect on mine. but i guess its better than weakening, which only got 4%.
i wouldn't jump to conclusions that it was God's judgment on people. In Luke 13:1-5, people ask Jesus about the Galileans who were killed by Pilate while sacrificing and Jesus said, it isn't about the people that were killed and whether they deserved it or not. what you should think about is that YOU deserve this! These events must be used to encourage everyone else to repent should something like that happen to them!
"Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribe limits for it and set bars and doors,
and said, 'thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed.?"
"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused teh dawn to know its place."
"What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?"
"Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man."
i could go on and on... but of course God doesn't control nature... (sarcasm)
Righto. Campolo is a bold denier of God's Word. He's a dualist.
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